by Julie Kenner
She sank to her knees, as well, her bottom lip between her teeth. Shaking all over, she merely nodded.
“Today?”
She blinked, stunned. “Today?”
Another grin. “I ship out on Monday.”
“Oh.”
“And I don’t want to do it without making you mine. I know that I’m asking you to give up a wedding and cake and guests and gifts and—”
She threw her arms around his neck, then pressed her lips in her favorite spot beneath his ear and breathed him in. “Do you think any of that matters to me, you fool? I get you. I win.”
He chuckled against her. “You might not think I’m such a prize after we’re married. I hear that happens.”
Winnie drew back and looked at him through her tears. Those bright sea eyes were alight with happiness and triumph. The idea that he loved her, that he wanted her forever spilled into every cell in her body, making her rejoice with utter contentment.
“I win,” she repeated. “And you have always been and will always be my prize.”
His gaze softened and he bent forward and kissed her. “You’re too good for me.”
“I know,” she teased. “But why let a little thing like that keep us apart?”
Adam grinned. “Why, indeed.”
Epilogue
Two months later…
BECAUSE HE KNEW BETTER than to expect that his wife would be home, Adam went immediately to the bakery and dropped his duffel bag onto the floor.
Jeanette squealed with delight and Lizzie whooped for joy. “You’re back early! Winnie didn’t say—”
“She doesn’t know.” This was supposed to be a surprise. He glanced around, peered into the kitchen and frowned when he didn’t see her. “Where is she?”
Jeanette and Lizzie shared a look.
“What?” he asked, growing alarmed.
“She’s in the bathroom,” Lizzie said, but there was something in her tone that gave Adam pause.
He frowned. “Is she sick?”
Their lips quivered. “Nothing she won’t get over in a couple of months.”
Still worried and puzzled over their enigmatic behavior, Adam strolled into the hall and waited patiently for Winnie to come out of the bathroom. He heard an ominous noise, one he recognized and worry descended on him. She was sick? Throwing up? A moment later, the toilet flushed, then the faucet ran and he detected the unmistakable sound of her brushing her teeth.
After what felt like an eternity, his wife—his wife, he thought, amazed at how proud that made him feel—opened the door and stepped into the narrow hall. She gasped and squealed when she saw him, then launched herself into his arms.
“Adam! What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t getting in until tomorrow. I was going to come and get you,” she chided softly.
“I caught an earlier flight,” he told her, feeling the peace of finally being with her again wash through him, settle around him, anchor him home once more. He drew back. “Are you okay? It sounded like you were sick in there.”
She blinked, then a small secret smile slid over her lips. “I’m completely fine. In fact, I’ve never been better.”
He didn’t understand. He knew she’d just thrown up. He’d heard her.
“Actually, I need to amend that statement. We’ve never been better.”
Adam felt his heart skip a beat as he quickly put the odd behavior, her sudden malaise and the euphoric look on Winnie’s face together in his mind to form the most logical answer. “We?”
She nodded once, her face alight with joy. “Yes, our twins and I.”
Adam felt his eyes widen and joy bolted through him. “Twins? You’re sure?”
She smiled. “Turns out I wasn’t as protected as I thought I was. My birth control failed. I went to the doctor when I didn’t start and he did an ultrasound to confirm.”
“Twins,” Adam breathed. He shook his head. “You know, I didn’t think that I could be any happier than when I just saw you…but I am.”
Winnie smiled. “So where are we going next?” she asked. “New orders yet?”
Ah. His good news. And it was good news. While he would have never chosen this new opportunity in the past, he couldn’t imagine his life taking a different direction now. He was still a soldier the same as he’d always been, but he had a different purpose now, one that he was even more passionate about. Granted there were many things about his new life he didn’t fully understand—and he still had a few kinks in his head—but he could help people. He’d lived their nightmare and could relate. In short, he could help.
“Nowhere,” he told her, smiling. “How would you feel if I told you I’d been offered that mobile position I’d told you about?”
She gasped. “The mentoring opportunity? You’d be able to commute?”
He nodded. “The longest I would ever be away is two weeks at a stretch.”
Her eyes lit up and a slow smile dawned over her unbelievably beautiful mouth. She snorted. “Two weeks is a walk in the park compared to the last two months. I’ve missed you.”
He hugged her tightly. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Winnie drew back. “Are you sure about this, Adam? We’ll do whatever makes you happy, because I’m happy where you are.”
He knew that and he appreciated it. But he was certain. He’d proved to himself that he hadn’t lost anything, absolutely nothing at all. In fact, he’d gained everything his heart ever desired.
“I’m sure,” he said. He nuzzled her neck. “You know what I’ve been craving?”
“A cupcake?”
“Hmm. That, too, but it can wait. I’ve actually been having the oddest craving for…powdered sugar. Think you can hook me up?”
Winnie leaped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her sexy mouth found his and her arms tightened possessively around his neck, making him feel more complete than he ever had in his life. Desire burned through his blood, pooled in his groin and caught fire. “I’ve got your fix,” she breathed against his lips.
And she did.
Kate Hoffmann
THE MIGHTY QUINNS: TEAGUE
Kate Hoffmann’s Mighty Quinns are back—and this time, they’re going Down Under!
All Quinn males, past and present, know the legend of the first Mighty Quinn. And they’ve all been warned about the family curse—that the only thing capable of bringing down a Quinn is a woman.
These sexy Aussie brothers are about to learn that they can’t escape their family legacy, no matter where they live. And they’re about to enjoy every satisfying minute of it!
THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRODY
THE MIGHTY QUINNS: TEAGUE
THE MIGHTY QUINNS: CALLUM
Dear Reader,
I’m falling in love with Australian men! And yet I’ve never met one in person. There are certainly a number of dishy dudes from Down Under to watch on television and in the movies, but I’ve got a crush on the Quinns. Maybe that’s why I can’t seem to stop writing about them.
Setting a trilogy in Australia posed a unique set of problems. Though Australians speak the same language that we do here in the States, they put their own unique and colorful spin on English. I’ve had some wonderful help from Aussie author Sarah Mayberry in working out the lingo and a lot of the day-to-day details of life. And I’ll leave it to my wonderful Australian readers to let me know if I’ve gotten it right.
I hope you enjoy the second installment of THE MIGHTY QUINNS saga. Callum is up next month, and then I’m heading off on a tour of the world to see if I can find any more interesting Quinns to write about.
Happy reading,
Kate
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kate Hoffmann has been writing for Harlequin Books for fifteen years and has published nearly sixty books, including Harlequin Temptation novels, Harlequin Blaze books, novellas and even the occasional historical. When she isn’t writing, she is involved in various musical and theatrical activities in her small Wisconsin community. Sh
e enjoys sleeping late, drinking coffee and eating bonbons. She lives with her two cats, Tally and Chloe, and her computer, which shall remain nameless.
Books by Kate Hoffmann
HARLEQUIN BLAZE
285—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: IAN
291—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: DECLAN
340—DOING IRELAND!
356—FOR LUST OR MONEY
379—YOUR BED OR MINE?
406—INCOGNITO
438—WHO NEEDS MISTLETOE?
476—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRODY
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
933—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: LIAM
937—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRIAN
941—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: SEAN
963—LEGALLY MINE
988—HOT & BOTHERED
1017—WARM & WILLING
HARLEQUIN
SINGLE TITLES
(The Quinns)
REUNITED
THE PROMISE
THE LEGACY
To Dr. Greg B., DVM, for his insights
on equine veterinary medicine.
And for taking such good care of
Chloe and Tally!
Prologue
Queensland, Australia—August 1996
TEAGUE QUINN STRETCHED his arms over his head and closed his eyes against the sun, the warm rays heating the big rock beneath him. The wind rustled in the dry brush. The sounds of the outback were so familiar they were almost like music to him.
He’d managed to escape the house before anyone noticed he was gone, saddling his horse and riding out in a cloud of dust, the shoe box tucked under his arm. When he wasn’t working the stock with his father and brothers, he was tending to some other job his mother had conjured out of thin air. He wondered what it might be like to live a normal life, in a grand house in Brisbane, where daily chores didn’t exist.
There’d be girls and parties and school and sports—all the things fourteen-year-old boys were supposed to enjoy. Teague sighed. Most boys his age didn’t like school, but real classrooms with real teachers, chemistry and biology and physics and math, these were things he’d never experienced.
Instead, Teague was stuck on a cattle station in Queensland, with his parents, his two brothers and a rowdy bunch of jackaroos. Classes took place at the kitchen table, him and his brothers gathered around the radio listening to School of the Air. The closest town, Bilbarra, had a library and a small school, but that was a two-hour drive, much too far to make it practical day to day. Some of the kids on the more profitable stations were sent away to boarding school, but Kerry Creek wasn’t exactly swimming in cash. Though the Quinn family wasn’t poor, they weren’t in the big bickies, either.
Teague heard the sound of hoofbeats and pushed up on his elbows, scanning the approach to the big rock and cursing to himself. Would he ever be able to get away from his brothers, or would they be following him around the rest of his life?
When he didn’t see a rider coming from the direction of the homestead, he glanced over his shoulder and watched as a horse galloped full bore from the opposite direction, its rider hunched low in the saddle. Scrambling to his feet, Teague stood on the rock, ready to defend his territory against the interloper.
The boy drew his horse to a stop, the animal breathing heavily. From beneath the brim of a battered stockman’s hat, he stared at Teague, a grim expression on his face. He wasn’t very big, Teague mused, sizing up his chances if it came down to a fistfight.
But then suddenly, the boy smiled. “Did I scare you?” In one smooth motion, he brushed his hat from his head and a tumble of wavy blond hair revealed not a boy, but a girl. His breath caught in his throat as he stared into her pale blue eyes. Teague swallowed hard. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.
“I scared the piss out of you, didn’t I? You should see your face. You’re as pale as a ghost.”
Teague scowled, embarrassed that she’d noticed his reaction. “Nick off. I wasn’t scared. Why would I be scared of a mite like you? You couldn’t knock the skin off a rice pudding.”
She slid off her horse. “Oh, yeah. Well, you’re so stupid, you couldn’t tell your arse from a hole in the ground.”
Teague opened his mouth, shocked to hear that kind of language from a girl. But then, he really had no experience talking to girls. With no sisters, he wasn’t sure how girls were supposed to talk. On the telly, they always seemed to act so proper and prissy. This girl was acting more like his brothers.
She hitched her hands on her waist and stared up at him. “Well, are you going to give me a hand up or are you going to be mingy about the view?”
Teague studied her for a long moment. There wasn’t much to fear from her. She was at least a head shorter than him and a few stone lighter. Though, in a verbal sparring match, she’d probably slice him into dinner for the dingoes. He reluctantly held out his hand and pulled her up beside him.
She scrambled to her feet and took a good look around. A frown wrinkled her brow, then she plopped down and sighed deeply.
“You don’t like the view?”
She shook her head. “I thought I might be able to see the ocean.”
Teague laughed, but when he saw the hurt in her eyes, he realized the depth of her disappointment. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he sat down beside her. “You can’t see the ocean from anywhere on this station. Even if you get up to the highest point. It’s too far away.”
She cursed beneath her breath before turning away from him. “I used to live near the ocean. I could see the water every day. I wish I could see it again.”
A long silence grew between them. “That must have been nice,” he finally ventured.
“It was better than living out here. Everything is so…dusty. And there are flies everywhere.”
“Yeah, but you don’t get to ride horses in the city,” Teague offered, surprised to find himself defending the outback. “Or keep cattle. Or have a lot of dogs. And you don’t see lizards and ’roos like you do here.”
“You like animals?” she asked, her disappointment forgotten as suddenly as it had appeared.
Teague nodded. “Last month I found a bird with a broken wing. And I healed it.” He pointed to the box beside him. “I’m going to let it go today.”
“Can I see?” she asked, bending over the box.
Teague picked the box up, said a silent prayer, then lifted the lid. The sparrow immediately took flight and the girl clapped her hands as it flew into the distance. He felt his cheeks warm. “Maybe it healed itself. It’s only a sparrow, but I kept it alive until it could fly again. I find hurt animals all the time and I know how to make them well again.” He paused. “I like doing that.”
A tiny smile tugged at her lips. “All right, there is one good thing about living on Wallaroo.”
Teague swallowed hard, wondering if she’d just paid him a compliment. Then her words sank in. “You live on Wallaroo?” He hadn’t even considered the possibility. But now that he thought about it, this was the girl his parents had had been talking about. “You’re Hayley Fraser, then.”
She seemed surprised he knew her name. “Maybe,” she replied.
He’d heard the story by way of eavesdropping. Hayley’s parents had been killed in an auto wreck when she was eight years old. She’d been moved from foster home to foster home, until her grandfather had finally agreed to take her. According to Teague’s mum, old man Fraser hadn’t been on speaking terms with his only child since Jake Fraser had run away from home at age eighteen. And now, his poor granddaughter was forced to live with a cold, unfeeling man who’d never wanted her on Wallaroo in the first place.
Teague’s mum had insisted that Wallaroo was no place for a troubled young girl to grow up, without any women on the station at all, and with only rowdy men to serve as an example. Yet there was nothing anyone could do for her. Except him, Teague mused.
“You ride pretty good,” he said. “Who taught you?”
“I taught myself. It doesn’t take much skill. You hop on the horse
and hang on.”
“You know your granddad and my father are enemies. They hate each other.”
Hayley blinked as she glanced over at him. “No surprise. Harry hates everyone, including me.”
“You call him Harry?”
She shrugged. “That’s his name.”
Teague felt an odd lurch in his stomach as his eyes met hers. She had the longest eyelashes he’d ever seen. His gaze drifted down to her mouth and suddenly, he found himself wondering what it might be like to kiss such a bold and brave girl.
“It’s because of that land right over there,” Teague said, pointing toward the horizon. “It belongs to Kerry Creek, but Har—your grandfather thinks it belongs to him. Every few years old man Fraser goes to court and tries to take it back, but he always loses.”
“Why does he keep trying?”
“He says that my great-grandfather gave it to his father. It’s part of the Quinn homestead, so I don’t know why any Quinn would ever give it away. I think your grandfather might be a bit batty.”
Hayley turned and looked in the direction that he was pointing, apparently unfazed by his opinion of her grandfather. “Who’d care about that land? There’s nothing on it.”
“Water,” he said, leaning closer and drawing a deep breath. She even smelled good, he mused. He reached up and touched her hair, curious to see if it was as soft as it looked, but Hayley jumped, turning to him with a suspicious expression.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing!” Teague said. “You had a bug in your hair. I picked it out.”
She sighed softly. “I better get home. He’ll wonder where I am. I have to get supper ready.”
Teague slid off the rock, dropping lightly to his feet. Then he held his hands up and Hayley nimbly jumped down. His hands rested on her waist as Teague took in the details of her face, trying to memorize them all before she disappeared.
